Hummus
Originally cultivated in the Mediterranean and the Middle East, chickpeas or garbanzo beans, have spread their culinary influence throughout the world. They are widely featured in Middle Eastern, Indian, Greek and Spanish cuisine.
Chick peas belong to the legume family and like other legumes such as beans, peas and lentils, they are prized for their high protein and fiber content, and also contain several key vitamins and minerals known to benefit human health.Though the most common type of chickpea appears round and beige, other varieties include colors such as black, green, and red.
Unlike other beans, chick peas give you the choice between using home cooked beans or the canned ones. Making hummus from canned beans, is much easier and less time consuming than from the dried chick peas. I avoid using canned food whenever possible. I’ll use the dry chickpeas today but if you want to save sometime, go for the canned ones. It won’t change the taste.
What you'll need
1 cup dried chick peas soaked overnight for 12-15 hours
1/4 cup white sesame seeds (or use a store brought tahini paste if you wish)
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 tbsp lime juice
Salt as per taste
How to
Look through the beans and pick out anything that doesn’t look like a bean. Once they are soaked in water for around 12-15 hours, drain and rinse them well. When the beans rehydrate, they almost double in size. So soak the beans in almost double the amount of water. Now add the beans to a large pot with enough water (if you have 1 cup soaked peas, add 2 cups of water) and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer until they are soft and squashy. If you want to reduce the cooking time, pressure cook the chick peas to about 4 whistles which would take around 15 minutes. Once they are cooked, allow them to cool for atleast 15-20 minutes. Drain the cooked chickpeas and keep aside the liquid used for cooking aside. We will use them later.
Soak the sesame seeds in enough water for 15 minutes before starting with the hummus. Put the cooked chick peas, soaked sesame seeds and rest of the ingredients in a food processor and begin to process; Use the leftover chickpea liquid or plain water as needed to allow the machine to produce a smooth puree. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Add more salt or lemon juice if needed. Spread the hummus in a serving bowl. Drizzle with olive oil, paprika and some cooked chickpeas.
